Umbrella

ABSTRACT

An umbrella having a telescopic stick is provided with a crown at one end of the umbrella stick and dome ribs are hinged to the crown. The dome ribs may be telescopic and a cover material is sewn centrally to the crown and to the dome ribs. A spreader device having flexible fingers normally extending in a plane at right angles to the stick is provided with integral flexible connecting means between the individual fingers such that the connecting means between the fingers override the dome ribs so that the spreader device will follow the dome ribs when the dome ribs are being opened, yet the spreader device will resiliently tend to retain its radially extending position when the dome ribs are closed forcing the cover to form an outwardly extending mushroom.

I Umted States Patent [191 Bremshey UMBRELLA [75] Inventor: ManfredBremshey, Mount Royal,

Canada [73] Assignee: Telesco Brophey Limited, Montreal,

Canada [22] Filed: May 30, 1973 21] Appl. No.: 365,247

[30] Foreign Application Priority Data June 3, 1972 Germany 2226785 [52]US. Cl. 135/26 [51] Int. Cl. A45B 19/06 [58] Field of Search 135/20, 25,26, 33, 36

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 184,771 11/1876 Folsom135/26 2,443,772 6/1948 Mappin 135/26 3,693,643 9/1972 Weber 135/263,844,302 10/1974 Klein 135/26 /0 5 a m 71s- /9 ,1;- L

Primary Examiner-J. Karl Bell Attorney, Agent, or FirmRobert E.Mitchell; Alan Swabey [57] ABSTRACT An umbrella having a telescopicstick is provided with a crown at one end of the umbrella stick and domeribs are hinged to the crown. The dome ribs may be telescopic and acover material is sewn centrally to the crown and to the-dome ribs. Aspreader device having flexible fingers normally extending in a plane atright angles to the stick is provided with integral flexible connectingmeans between the individual fingers such that the connecting meansbetween the fingers override the dome ribs so that the spreader devicewill follow the dome ribs when the dome ribs are being opened, yet thespreader device will resiliently tend to retain its radially extendingposition when the dome ribs are closed forcing the cover to form anoutwardly extending mushroom.

3 Claims, 12 Drawing Figures U.S. Patent No 4, 1975 sheet 1of4 3,916,927

US. Patent Nov. 4, 1975 shw 2 of4 3,916,927

FIG. 2

VI I/I/I/I/I/I 7 FIG. 3 9

- Vllunllll;

I'I'I'I'.

FIG. 5

Us;- Patent No'v14, 1915 Sheet 3 on 3,916,927

Y/// p/ //////J US. Patent Nov. 4, 1975 Sheet4 0f4 3,916,927

UMBRELLA BACKGROUND OF INVENTION 1. Field of Invention The presentinvention relates to an umbrella and more particularly to an improvementin telescopic umbrellas. 2. Description of Prior Art In conventionaltelescopic umbrellas, the cover fabric is usually attached centrally atthe crown of the umbrella and at the tips of the dome ribs. The umbrellacover is usually also attached at an intermediate point of the domeribs, namely on a sliding geats. However, as the dome ribs aretelescoped, the portion of the cover fabric between the attachment atthe geats and the crown is usually bunched and must be manually reformedand neatly folded before the umbrella is in a condition to be insertedinto a sheath. Furthermore, the folds of the cover fabric between itsattachment with the geats and the crown are often pinched by the geatsagainst the crown when the umbrella is fully collapsed. This can giverise to'accidental tearing of the cover in this area.

It has been proposed to provide a spreader device to form amushroom-like fold in the portion of the umbrella cover immediatelysurrounding the crown after the umbrella has been collapsed. Such aspreader is shown in Canadian Patent No. 823,446, issued Sept. 23, 1969,wherein the spreader includes a series of resilient steel wiresextending within a sewn tube formed in the seam and these wires areclipped just above the crown.

In other embodiments described in the patent, a continuous wire is shownwhich is bent to form outwardly extending fingers from a hub mountedjust above the crown. As is evident from this patent, the constructionis complicated and very difficult to manufacture in a mass-producedsystem, since the finger can only be assembled by experts. It would, ofcourse, be easier to assemble if the tubes or members are made out ofplastic. Where free ends are used, the fingers may pierce the umbrellacover and the fingers might easily fold and hook each other in theoperation of the umbrella. Furthermore, in the embodiment shown in theabovementioned Canadian patent, the fingers must lie over the dome ribsso that they will open fully when the umbrella is being opened. 7

SUMMARY OF INVENTION It is an aim of the present invention to provide anumbrella frame and cover whereby when the umbrella is being telescopedinto a collapsed position, the cover material between its attachmentwith the geats and the crown assumes a spread-mushroom shape which canthen be easily furled for insertion into an umbrella sheath.

Another aim of the present invention is to provide a spreader which isof economical manufacture and can crown when it is required to furl theumbrella cover. The hub, fingers and chordal members are formedintegrally from flexible plastic material.

A further feature of the present invention includes a spreader meanshaving a hub adapted to fit on the umbrella stick above the crown andfingers extending from the hub stepped downwardly from the plane of thehub, such that each finger extends substantially within the planedefined by each pair of dome ribs.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Having thus generally described thenature of the invention, reference will now be made to the accompanyingdrawings, showing by way of illustration, preferred embodiments thereof,and in which:

FIG. 1 is a side elevation, partly in cross section, of a collapsedumbrella in accordance with the present invention, prior to furling themushroom-formed cover;

FIG. 2 is a top plan view of one embodiment of the spreader device inaccordance with the present invention shown in relation to a fragmentaryillustration of an umbrella frame;

FIG. 3 is a vertical cross section taken along lines III- -III in FIG.2;

FIG. 4 is a view similar to FIG. 3, but showing a different embodimentthereof;

FIG. 5 is yet another vertical cross-sectional view similar to FIG. 3,but showing yet a different embodiment thereof;

FIG. 6 is a fragmentary top plan view of a different embodiment of aspreader device in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 7 is a vertical cross section taken along lines VII-VII of FIG. 6;

FIG. 8 is a top plan view of yet another embodiment of the spreader inaccordance with the present invention;

FIG. 9 is a vertical cross section taken on line 9-9 of FIG. 8 andshowing the outline of the spreader in FIG. 8;

FIG. 10 is a fragmentary top plan view of the umbrella showing thespreader of yet another embodiment, superimposed over the umbrellaframe, with the umbrella cover being cut away;

FIG. 11 is a fragmentary perspective exploded view showing the spreaderof the embodiment of FIG. 10 in relation to the crown; and

FIG. 12 is a fragmentary side elevation, partly in cross section of thespreader of the embodiment shown in FIGS. 10 and 11.

DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Referring now to the drawings andparticularly to FIG. 1, an umbrella is shown having a telescopicumbrella stick 1 with a handle 2 fixed at one end. A crown 3 is fixed atthe other end of the telescopic stick 1. The crown includes a threadedsleeve 4 which is adapted to receive a cap 5 as shown. The umbrellacover fabric 6 is held centrally clamped between the cap 5 and the crown3. Dome ribs 7 are hinged to the periphery of the crown 3 and in thiscase each dome rib 7 includes an inner dome rib section 7a and an outersection The section 7a, which is hinged to the crown, is of U-shapedcross section and the outer section 7b slides within the section 7a. Astretcher member 9 is hinged at 8 to the geats 10. The geats also servesto anchor a corresponding portion of the umbrella cover fabric 6. Thestretcher member 9 is hinged to a runner in a conventional manner. Therunner is retracted within the hollow handle 2 and is, therefore, notvisible in the drawings. Also mounted on the stick 1 for slidingmovement is an auxiliary runner 1 l to which the strut 12 is hinged.Strut 12 is also hinged to the stretcher 9 at 13.

The umbrella cover fabric 6 is also attached to the tips 15 of the outerdome rib sections 7b.

All of the spreader members which will be described in the presentdisclosure are preferably injection molded and have been designed sothat they can be readily injection molded. The material of the spreaderis generally plastic with a high degree of flexibility such as in manyorganic polymeric resins. The spreaders could, of course, be made oflight metal. The spreaders could, of course, be cut from sheet material.

In the embodiment shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, a spreader 17 is shown havingfingers 19 which extend radially outwardly from an annular hub 18. Theannular hub 18 has a central aperture 18, the diameter of which is equalto the outer diameter of the threaded sleeve 4 of the umbrella crown 3.At a distance from the hub 18 are chordal members which link each fingerto the other. The purpose of the chordal members 20 is to permit thefingers 19 of the spreader 17 to move in unison. If the fingers 19 arenot exactly aligned with the dome ribs 7, as shown in FIG. 2, the domeribs 7 will abut the chordal member 20 causing the fingers 19 on eitherside of the dome ribs 7 to move upwardly with the dome rib as will bedescribed further.

Referring back to FIG. 1, the spreader 17 is fitted to theumbrella'byplacing the hub 18 over the crown 3 just under the cover fabric 6. Thecap 5 is screwed tightly on the threaded sleeve 4 to retain the coverfabric 6 and the hub 18 against the crown 3. In its environment, thespreaderfingers extend from the hub above the crown over the dome ribsand under the cover material 6. When the umbrella is fully extended, thefingers 19 are out of the way and are retained between the dome ribs 7and the cover 6, particularly since the fingers 19 are provided withchordal members 20 linking each finger 19. As the dome ribs moveupwardly, the fingers 19 move in unison with the dome ribs and are keptout of the way. However, since the fingers 19 are molded such that theyextend normally radially outwardly of the hub 18, when the umbrella isclosed and the stick is collapsed, the fingers 19 tend to return totheir normal radially extending position in a plane extending radiallyfrom the axis of the stick 1. This causes the fingers to push the loosefabric between the geats 10 which is now close to the crown, and thecrown outwardly to form a mushroom as shown in FIG. 1. When it isrequired to insert the umbrella into a sheath, the operator merely furlsthe fabric by pressing the fingers 19 downwardly against the umbrella.

It is necessary that the chordal members 20 be of relatively small crosssection to allow them to bend and flex, particularly when the fingersare folded against the closed umbrella. The chordal members 20 should,of course, be of sufficient cross section so that they are not damagedor deformed in this frequent operation.

It is also contemplated to preform bends in the chordal member as shownat 23 in FIG. 4. In this situation, the corrugated chordal member 23will easily bend along the preformed bends when the fingers are foldeddownwardly against the frame.

In the embodiment shown in FIG. 5, a separate rubber strap 24 isthreaded through aperture 24' in the fingers 19 and the strap eventuallyacts as the chordal link members for the spreader.

The embodiment shown in FIGS. 6 and 7 includes the hub 18 with thefingers 19 and the fingers 19 are connected by two thin spaced-apartchordal members 20 and 25, with each having the outline of concentricpolygonal members.

In the embodiment shown in FIG. 6, a rib 26 is provided extendingradially from the hub 18 to the tip of the finger 19. The purpose of therib 26 is to reinforce the finger l9 and also to improve theinjection-molding process of the spreader. If the molten plastic is fedcentrally, the grooves cut in the molds to form the ribs 26 enable theplastic to flow to the outer ends of the fingers 19, especially to formthe outer chordal members 25.

It is noted from the previous embodiments that the fingers 19 are madeof relatively wide configuration, particularly at the tips thereof, toreduce the chances of the fingers 19 tearing the cover fabric.

The spreaders shown in FIGS. 8 and 9 are star shaped and include fingers27 made of parallel legs 27' defining a slot 28. Angular connectingmembers 29 extend from the outer ends 27" of the legs 27. The apices 29'of the connecting members 29 project outwardly radially further-than theends of the fingers 27. In cross section, the fingers 27 are providedwith a first preformed bend 30 and a second preformed bend 31 with theconnections of the connecting members 29. This arrangement of bendsensures that in any of the positions of the umbrella, the spreader isnot overstressed in its bending zone, thereby lengthening the life ofthe spreader.

It has also been contemplated, although it is not illustrated here, toform the fingers so that they overlap in the same way as a fan when theumbrella is completely open, and when the umbrella is closed, thefingers merely increase in overlapping.

There is still a further embodiment of the spreader shown in FIGS. 10through 12, wherein the fingers 19 extend radially outwardly in a planestepped downwardly from the plane of the hub 18. The purpose thereof isso that the fingers 19 extend in the same plane as formed by each pairof adjacent dome ribs so that the fingers do not take any additionalspace than already taken up by the dome ribs. In this case, the chordalmembers 20 are corrugated in shape and each finger also includes thereinforcing rib 26.

The spreader members as mentioned above can be made of plastic materialas well as light metal. It is contemplated also that a combination ofthese, wherein a wire frame is covered with injection-molded plastic,could be used.

I claim:

1. An umbrella including a telescopic stick, a crown at one end of thestick, a cover fabric overlying the dome ribs and attached centrallyabove the crown, spreader means including a hub connected to the stickbetween the cover and the crown, fingers extending radially from thehub; chordal link members extending between the fingers and spacedradially from the hub near the end of the fingers, with the chordal linkmembers being such that they are easily bent when the fingers arepressed downwardly from the crown when it is chordally extending linkmembers are preformed corrugated strips integrally connected with thefingers.

3. An umbrella as defined in claim 1, wherein the fingers extendradially and the link members include a pair of converging membersforming a diamond-shaped outline with the adjacent finger, and whereinthe apex of the connecting members is further from the axis of the hubthan the ends of the fingers.

1. An umbrella including a telescopic stick, a crown at one end of thestick, a cover fabric overlying the dome ribs and attached centrallyabove the crown, spreader means including a hub connected to the stickbetween the cover and the crown, fingers extending radially from thehub; chordal link members extending between the fingers and spacedradially from the hub near the end of the fingers, with the chordal linkmembers being such that they are easily bent when the fingers arepressed downwardly from the crown when it is required to furl theumbrella cover; the hub, fingers and chordal members being formedintegrally of flexible plastic material, said hub being flat and havingan aperture through which said stick projects, the fingers being steppeddown from said flat hub disposing the fingers in planes defined byadjacent pairs of dome ribs, the link members extending between adjacentfingers for integrating movement of the spreader.
 2. An umbrella asdefined in claim 1, wherein the chordally extending link members arepreformed corrugated strips integrally connected with the fingers.
 3. Anumbrella as defined in claim 1, wherein the fingers extend radially andthe link members include a pair of converging members forming adiamond-shaped outline with the adjacent finger, and wherein the apex ofthe connecting members is further from the axis of the hub than the endsof the fingers.